Elastic pile fabric



Feb. 23, 1943.

M. c. TEAGUE ETAL ELASTIC PILE FABRICA Filed oct. 26. 1940 INVORS Manny6.1@- BY 77z0maa 672.7[azv y,eff'.

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 23, 1943 Merwyn C., Teague,

Ridgewood, N. J., and Thomas G. Hawley, Jr., Naugatuck, Conn., assignorsto United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewJersey Application October 26, 1940, Serial No. 362,964

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to an improved elastic pile ,fabric having arubber backing bonded to the base of the tufts and the back of thefabric to hold the tufts in the ground fabric and to give it additionalelasticity.

The fabric may be made by the method described and claimed in ourcopending application Serial No. 186,132, filed January 21, 1938, ofwhich this application is a continuation in part, and is particularlyuseful as an upholstery material because it can be stretched smoothlyover spherical surfaces.

Rubber has been applied to the back of pile fabrics for the purpose ofsecuring the tufts in the ground fabric and to render it impervious. butthe present pile fabric has an advantage over the prior fabrics becausethe rubber backing serves the dual purpose of holding the tufts in thefabric and imparting additional elasticity to it. Due to the doublefunction of the rubber backing our pile fabric may be stretched andcontracted freely without permitting the tufts to become loose and fallor the ground fabric.

The invention will be the following description when read in connectionwith the accompanying drawing illustrat ing an elastic pile fabricembodying.the invention. and a method and mechanism for making same.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a form of mechanism forcondensing fabric between two stretched belts;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through a piece of pile fabricbefore it is condensed;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing an elastic pile fabricembodying this invention, which comprises the pile fabric after it hasbeen condensed and secured to the rubber backing; and

Fig. 4 is a plan shown in Fig. 3.

The elastic pile fabric E shown in Fig. 3 may be made with theconstruction disclosed in Fis. 1 of the drawing in which the pile fabricF in Fig. 2 to be made elastic is supplied from a roll lo. The' back Kof the fabric F is adhered to a stretched condensing belt Il. to bedescribed, with a rubber-containing uid which may take the form of asolvent rubber cement which does not soften when under heat ofvulcanization to such an extent as to release the condensed condiview ofthe back or the fabric tion of the fabric, or an aqueous dispersion ofrubber such as rubber latex with or without combe easily pulled out ofAfurther understood from pounding and/or vulcanizing ingredients and iueither a vulcanized or unvulcanized condition to a workable degree. Someof the solvent rubber cements of the class referred to above are thosemade from crude rubber without mastication and from reclaim rubberwhichcontains combined sulphur. It is desirable to' use a desolvatingagent during the solvating step to provide a maximum rubber cont-entandminimum solvent content. Rubber containing fluid as used herein shallinclude any consistency or viscosity of the rubber containing materialswhich may be sprayed, spread or applied by a pick-up roll or the like.The rubber fluid may be applied to the fabric or to the condensing belt,or to both, but it is deemed preferable to employ rubber latex to impartthe desired elastic properties to the fabric, and to apply it to thefabric by means of a spray. In the construction shown in Fig. 1,

the latex is applied to the upper face of the fabric by the nozzles Land L.

The present invention as above stated contemplatesusing the adhesiveaction of the rubber coating to temporarilysecure the fabric to theAcondensing belt. It is thereforeA important that the coating upon thefabric be in a tacky condl- .tion when the fabric reaches the condensingbelt. This tacky condition may be secured by heating or drying the latexupon the fabric, or by coagulating the latex either by heating orspraying a coagulant thereupon by means of the nozzle C, or a heatsensitive latex may be used. The heating or partial coagulation of thelatex may serve-also to make it less fluid so as to prevent too deeppenetration into the fabric and to prevent it from flowing togethertoclose the apertures of the fabric. The spraying nozzles L, L' and Care preferably inclined to the fabric as shown so that the spray willnot be forced through the fabric but will be deposited upon the upperface thereof. If desired the nozzles L, L' may be arranged at such anangle and the pressure behind the spray may be so controlled as is knownin the art that a porous layer of rubber may be deposited upon thefabric.

The fabric F is condensed in the construction of Fig. 1 by introducingit between the stretched portions of two elastic belts i i and I5 to befirmly between will has cooperating therewith the pinch roll I8, and'the lower drum I1 may be a free-running drum.

The drum I5 is operated at a slower surface speed than the large drum I2so that the lower run of this belt will be stretched and the upper runrelaxed to approximately the same extent as those portions of the belt II.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1 the rubbercontaining fluid isdeposited upon the back K of the fabric F which engages the inner beltII so that the fabric will adhere to this belt instead of to the outerbelt I5. A pinch roll I 8 may be ernployed to press the belts II and Ifirmly together against the drum I2 to cause the fabric F to be firmlysecured to the belt I I by its adhesive rubber coating. This pinch rollserves also to prevent slippage between the drum and belts at thispoint.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that when the rubber treatedfabric F is introduced between the stretched lower runs of the belts IIand I5 it will be strongly gripped between these belts as they passaround the drum I2, and that as these belts and the fabric approach theupper quadrant -of the drum I2, in the construction shown, the beltswillbe1 permitted to contract gradually, with the result that the fabrictherebe condensed gradually. The rubber-containing iiuid will cause thefabric to adhere more or less firmly to the belt I I', and thecontraction of this belt will therefore serve first to condense thefabric and then to hold it in the condensed condition. The treated andcondensed' fabric may be conducted by the belt II past the drying orheating mechanism I9 which will cause the rubber to set or becomesuiiciently vulcanized to yieldingly hold the fabric condensed. Thecondensed fabric E may then be stripped oil' ofthe belt Ii and woundupon the roll 20, whereupon the rubber may be further vulcanized orotherwise treated. For example, two such fabrics may be plied togetherbut in order to unite the two fabrics additional rubber adhesive shouldbeintroduced between them.

The construction shown in Fig. 1 utilizes the tension of an elastic beltto press the fabric against the drum and this serves to hold the fabricin a smooth nat condition while it is being condensed. Therubber-containing liquid on the fabric may if desired be partly dried orpartly coagulated as it passes around. the drum I2 by heating the drum.Care should be taken however, not to set the rubber by vulcanizationbefore the fabric is condensed.

The elastic belts Ii, and I5, may be formed of a porous or non-porousrubber sheet, or of a length,

of webbing, and the webbing if woven of elastic warps and non-elasticwefts can be stretched longitudinally without contracting appreciablytransversely. In condensing a woven fabric it is freouently important touse a belt the width of which does not vary appreciably as the belt isstretched` longitudinally and then permitted to contract, for a wovenfabric tends to pull away from a belt that expands transversely as itcontracts lengthwise.

In some cases it may be desirable to produce a two-way stretch pilefabric. This may be done by stretching the condensing belt bothlongitudinally and transversely before the fabric is aclhered thereto,and then releasing the tension in both directions and condensing thefabric in both directions.

rI'he elastic fabric made in accordance with the present inventioncomprises one or more condensed laminae of textile fabrics elasticallybonded to a lamina of rubber. The term textile fabrics shall includeonly those fabrics which are composed of interconnected, or interlacedtextile threads or yarns and which have an open construction so that thefabric may be condensed ln accordance with the process herein described.Loosely woven fabrics composed of such textile threads `which may or maynot contain bare or tile fabrics are adhered to the stretched condensingsurface, and that the threads in such fabrics are relaxed in one or moreof such directions to a greater extent than the threads in the normalunstretched textile fabrics and the term relaxed as applied to thepresent invention shall be so construed. As compared to the normaliinished condition of the textile fabrics used, the textile fabriclamina or laminae so condensed has an additional stretch imparted to itin either the longitudinal or transverse direction, or both.

In Fig. 2 is shown in longitudinal section a piece of pile fabric whichmay constitute the fabric F before it has been condensed, and Fig. 3 isa similar view o1' such fabric after it has been condensed upon theapparatus shown in Fig. 1, or by other means. It will ybe noted that thepile tufts T are closer together in Fig, 3 than in Fig. 2 and that theground fabric is mally retains the ground fabric in a condensedcondition, but permits the fabric to stretch under tension. The rubberbacking B also assists in a'ble method, such as by spraying therubber-con taining fluid on the fabric as previously referred to so asto produce the pores P.

Heretofore it was desirable to closely weave the ground fabric so as tohold the tufts in place. In

accordance with the present invention it is desirable to use' arelatively open Weave in the ground fabric so that it can be condensedand covered than non-elastic pile fabric, and will also stretch torelieve strains thereupon.

A loosely constructed pile fabric when treated the original fabric.

este@ Wherees the elastic pile fabric illustriited here in hes o, Wovenground fabric, it is to be uurierw stood that e, knitted ground iebricmay o so be used. lis various other mcdicutious i .hose disclosed hereinwill occur to persons siiiiieri in the art, it is not intended to limitthe invention other than as required vby the scope ci the prior art andas set forth in the appended claims.

Hoving thus described our invention what we claim oud desire to protectby Letters Potent is:

l. An elastic pile fabric comprising o lamine of rubber, u looselyconstructed ground febrile, und tufts enmeshed with the threads ci seidground fabric, seid ground fabric .being condensed im one direction sotheir, its threads extending in seid direction ere relaxed when saidrubber lamine is riot 'under tension from any outside source, and seidrubber lamine. being elesticelly bonded to the @isses of said tufts andto seid ground fabric and retaining seid reisxed threads oi seid groundfeb ric in such rele'ized condition when seid rubber ilumine is not'tension from our; outside source, whereby seid iuiiric is rendered ir!seid direction by virtue ei the elasticity of? seid rubbern 2. ein.elastic pile tobric comprising e iruriiue. of rubber, si loosely Woven.ground i'obric, and tuits erimcsiicd with the threads ci seid groundfabric, seid ground fabric being condensed in the loiigi-n tudiueldirection so that its threads extending iu scid direction ure relaxedend the tufts ure brought cioser together when said rubber lemme, isuort under tension from any outside source, und seid rubber lemme beingporous sind elesticully bonded to the bases of said tufts and to Suidground fabric und retaining seid relaxed threads of suicl ground fabricin such relaxed condition when seid rubber lamine is not under teusioufrom any outside source, whereby seid ebric is rendered elastic in seiddirection by virtue oi' the eiosticity of scid rubber.

MERWYN c. 'memoir'. 'recrues or. Herr, Je.

